


Dear Theodosia

by allonsy_gabriel



Series: History Obliterates (the Hamilton Reincarnation AU No One Wanted) [6]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Aaron Burr is the Token Straight Friend, Alexander Is a Little Shit, Alexander is a Mess, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Everyone Gives Burr So Much Shit, F/M, Fluff, Human Disaster Aaron Burr, Hurricane Alexander, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Poor Aaron Burr, Theodosia is Precious, Will Cause Cavities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 05:48:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10984632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allonsy_gabriel/pseuds/allonsy_gabriel
Summary: "As I was saying… I think I found Theodosia,” Daniel said, one of his rarer, more genuine smiles threatening to split his face.





	Dear Theodosia

**Author's Note:**

> LOOK, I COULDN'T GET THIS IDEA OUT OF MY HEAD. IT'S NOT BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, BUT IT'S CUTE AS FUCK.
> 
> Besides, Burr needs a bit of love.

To say Daniel’s life had been hectic lately would be an understatement. Since the moment he’d reconnected with Alexander, his life had been a whirlwind of activity. He hadn’t thought it possible for Alex to be more… well, let’s say more  _ energetic _ than he had been back in the 1700’s, but that was Alexander for you--doing the impossible.

 

Or, as the man himself would say, ‘passionately smashing every expectation’ (Daniel wished Alex had never heard of that damn musical).

 

Point is, Alexander had swept through Daniel’s life like a fucking  _ tornado _ , throwing shit around and seemingly uncontrollable. And not only that, but the whole gang, or a large part of the gang, was back together. Jon had been a welcome addition--Alex could now  _ actually _ moon over him, instead of mooning over the memory of him--, and Daniel didn’t mind Herc or Laf at all. Even Parker had been easily brought into what Alexander called the ‘HamilSquad’ (because  _ of course _ he would call it that). But with the addition of new people came more time spent with these people, more social gatherings, and the implementation of weekly game night.

 

All this plus preparing for law school and working at Cool Beans meant Daniel relaxed about as often as there was a new episode of  _ Sherlock _ ; however, this Wednesday was the exception. He didn’t have work, everyone else had class, and he had, somehow, completed all the assignments that were due soon.

 

So what did Daniel do?

 

He took a bubble bath. Obviously.

 

After that, he went to Barnes and Noble and got the next book in the  _ Red Queen  _ series before heading to Central Park and sitting himself down under a massive oak tree.

 

He’d been reading for about an hour when he was interrupted by a falling person and a very small dog.

 

“Oh, oh shit, I'm so sorry, fuck,” she said as she scrambled to her feet from where she'd landed on Daniel, “I'm so, so sorry! I was trying to catch Pip--the dog--and there was a root and I tripped and fuck I'm so sorry!”

 

Daniel placed a hand on her arm. “Don't worry about it,” he reassured, “Although I do believe this belongs to you.” He handed her the puppy that he had been petting since it had landed in his lap

 

“Pip! Yes, oh my god, thank you!” the lady said, taking the tiny dog.

 

“It's no problem. All I did was give them back,” Daniel replied with a grin.

 

The girl stuck out her hand and said, “I'm Doddie, Doddie Vost.”

 

“Daniel Barnes. Pleasure to meet you.”

 

“I doubt it, what with me crushing you a moment ago,” Doddie laughed and said. She tucked a piece of her long, black hair behind her ear and grinned.

 

“It was nothing, really. Besides, I got to meet a puppy, so it's all good,” Daniel joked, scratching the dog’s, Pip’s if he remembered correctly, head.

 

“This little guy? He's a mess,” Doddie said, kissing the dog's forehead. “But he's my mess. I'm really sorry that he attacked you.”

 

“So far, it's been the highlight of my day.”

 

“Hey, lemme make it up to you. There's this place nearby, it has the best gyros I've ever had. My treat?” Doddie said.

 

“No no, no way I could let you--”

 

“Hey, man, you're not letting me do anything. I'm  _ trying  _ to ask you out,” Doddie responded, rolling her eyes. Daniel’s eyes grew wide.

 

“Well, um, in that case, lead the way,” he said, and followed the girl and her dog out of the park.

OoOoO

Alexander was onto Daniel the very next time he saw him. The shop was empty as usual this early in the morning when Hurricane Alex blew in.

 

“What’s got you all smiley?” he asked as Daniel handed him his coffee.

 

“Isn’t a guy allowed to smile, Alex?” Daniel asked.

 

“You? At five o’clock in the morning? No.”

 

Daniel laughed, and Alexander’s eyes narrowed as he asked, “Who’d you meet?”

 

“What do you mean, who’d I meet?” Daniel said, but he could feel his face heating up.

 

“I mean, who’s got you acting like an off-brand Mr. Happy?” Alex asked, crossing his arms, “Hmmmmmm?”

 

“It’s none of your business, Alexander,” Daniel said.

 

“C’mon, Barnes, I’m your best friend!” Alex said, poking Daniel in the shoulder.

 

Daniel swatted his hand away and huffed. “Unfortunately, yes, you are. That does not mean you get to know every detail of my personal life.”

 

“Fine, fine. Whatever. Guess I’ll just have to go into  _ explicit detail _ about what me and Jon were doing last night, yeah?” Alexander said, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Jesus Christ, please no,” Daniel said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “This is extortion, you know. You of all people should understand how  _ shitty _ \--”

 

“So first he blew me, and lemme tell ya, the things--”

 

“Alexander!”

 

“He can do with his mouth, with his  _ tongue _ \--”

“Fine! Fine! Uncle, mercy, whatever! I went on a date yesterday! For the love of everything holy,  _ please _ stop!” Daniel shouted, holding his hands in front of him like some protective barrier.

 

Alex smiled like the cat that ate the canary. “Oooooh, Daniel got a date! Who’s the lucky man?” he teased.

 

“In case you’ve forgotten, I am the token Straight Friend in our group,” Daniel said with a roll of his eyes, “Her name’s Doddie.”

 

“Oh, that’s cute! What’s she like?” Alex asked, drumming his fingers on the coffee shop counter.

 

“She’s wonderful,” Daniel said with a goofy grin, and he missed Alexander’s knowing smile.

OoOoO

Daniel and Doddie had been going out for close to a month when it happened. It happened simply enough. They’d been in Daniel’s dorm, sprawled out over the couch as the watched Game of Thrones, when the Doddie’s phone rang.

 

“Will you get that, babe?” she asked, “I’ll go get more drinks.”

 

“Of course,” Daniel said, quickly unlocking the phone. It was the insurance company. Wonderful.

 

“Is this Theodosia Vost?” the voice on the other end of the line asked.

 

Daniel felt his heart skip a beat. “No, but this is her boyfriend,” he said.

 

“Oh, well, if you could have Miss Vost contact us as soon as possible, there are some new plans that we feel could offer her some great savings!” the voice said.

 

“I’ll let her know. Have a nice day,” Daniel said and hung up.

 

“Who was that?” Doddie called from the kitchen.

 

“Just the insurance company. Something about new plans or whatever. Your full name is Theodosia?” Daniel asked as Doddie came back in the room.

 

Doddie rolled her eyes as she plopped back down on the couch. “Yeah, it’s gross, I know. My parents apparently forgot it was no longer the 1700’s when I was born, and I got saddled with ‘Theodosia’. Started going by Doddie in kindergarten,” she explained.

 

“I think it’s beautiful,” Daniel whispered as he looked over his girlfriend’s face. Doddie blushed.

 

“Thanks,” she mumbled, ducking her head so that that long, dark hair of hers hung in her face. Daniel tucked it behind her ear.

 

“Theodosia Vost,” he said quietly, “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

 

When she kissed him after that, it was like seeing colors for the first time.

OoOoO

“I think I found her,” Daniel said the next day, when the whole group--sans Parker because it was Friday night which meant he was playing trumpet in his school’s marching band at his  _ high school _ , for fuck’s sake--was gathered in Lafayette’s dorm.

 

Alexander put down his beer. “Found who?” he asked.

 

“Daniel, mon ami, you’re going to have to be more specific,” Laf said, propping their head up in their hands.

 

“Barnes? Specific? Dunno if you’ve noticed, babe, but Danny here is the vaguest person in existence,” Herc quipped, kissing the top of Laf’s head. It wasn’t hard, since Lafayette insisted sitting in his  _ literal lap _ .

 

“Don’t-don’t call me Danny,” Daniel sputtered, a look of disgust on his face, “That’s just… wrong.”

 

“Oh look, Barnes has an opinion on something! Mark the day!” Jon teased, raising his can in a mock-salute.

 

“Careful, Jon. Last time Burr had a strong opinion I got shot,” Alexander said, grinning at his boyfriend, “Besides, I think Mr. Neutrality has something to say, for once, so let him say it.”

 

Daniel glared at Alex. “One,  _ don’t _ call me that. Two, yes, I do have something to say, thank you very much, so could you buffoons be serious for once in your lives?”

 

There was a beat.

 

“ _ Thank _ you. As I was saying… I think I found Theodosia,” Daniel said, one of his rarer, more genuine smiles threatening to split his face.

 

Alexander gasped. “Which one?” he asked.

 

“My wife,” Daniel said.

 

“What about Doddie?” Hercules asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Everyone with a pair of eyes knew how hopelessly in love Daniel was with Miss Vost.

 

“That’s the thing. I think Doddie  _ is  _ Theodosia. I answered a call from her insurance yesterday, and they called her Theodosia. That’s her full name,” Daniel explained.

 

“What if it’s a, how you say, coincidence?” Laf asked, provoking Alex to throw an ice cube at their head.

 

“Your English is better than mine, don’t ‘how you say’ us,” he said, “Plus, really? A coincidence? Look at us! We all have almost the exact same names! What kinda crazy odds are those?”

 

Another moment of silence. “Do you think she remembers? If she is your Theodosia?” Jon asked.

 

Daniel visibly drooped. “No,” he muttered, “but it doesn’t matter! It’s still Theo. It’s still my Theodosia. I’ve got her back, that’s all that’s important.”

 

“Are you going to tell her who you are?” Hercules asked.

 

“I mean, I probably should, but what if it’s not--”

 

“Daniel Aaron Barnes, I swear on Washington’s grave, if the next words out of your mouth are ‘the right time’, I  _ will  _ smack you,” Alexander said, “You’ve got to tell her! Even if she’s not Theodosia, she deserves to know. And if she is? Well, that’s even more reason to fess up.”

 

“But--”

 

“No.”

 

“Alex is right,” Laf said, “You cannot keep hiding who you are.”

 

Daniel stared at the table for a moment. “Fuck,” he mumbled.

 

“Pretty much,” Hercules said, “But that’s enough of this heavy shit. Who needs another beer?”

 

Everyone raised their hand.

OoOoO

Despite Alexander’s constant protests, Daniel waited another week before he brought up the conversation.

 

In that week, Daniel had gradually started calling her Theodosia, and by Wednesday, it was a mixture of that, Doddie, and Theo. Doddie, for her part, didn’t seem to mind, so long as it was coming from Daniel. Something about that made Daniel light up inside.

 

It was that Saturday when he finally got up the courage to tell her.

 

“So, uh, so you know reincarnation?” he opened with. They were sitting on Daniel’s fire escape, looking over the New York skyline, and Daniel couldn’t help but thank,  _ If this goes south, I can just throw myself off into oncoming traffic _ .

 

“I mean, yeah. Everyone knows about it. I don’t really believe in it, though,” Theo replied, cuddling closer to Daniel.

 

_ Mercer Street, here I come. _

 

“Oh. Well, I, uh…” Daniel stuttered, running a hand through his hair.

 

“What’s wrong, sweetheart? You can tell me,” Doddie replied,kissing Daniel’s cheek. Daniel took a deep breath, and said in that same breath,

 

“IusedtobeAaronBurr.”

 

“What?” Theodosia asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Um. I, er, used to be Aaron Burr. Like, Senator, Vice-President, Killed-Alexander-Hamilton-In-A-Duel, Aaron Burr,” he said, not meeting Doddie’s eyes.

 

“Really?” she asked.

 

“Uh, yeah. Really.”

 

His mind, unhelpfully and ironically, supplied him with a thought:  _ I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory _ (maybe Alexander wasn’t the only one who’d been listening to too much Hamilton).

 

“That’s…”  _ Prepare for jump _ , “So cool!” Theo squealed.

 

“What,” Daniel replied, so dryly it wasn’t even a question.

 

“That--Wow! You were Vice-President! That’s amazing!” Theodosia gushed.  _ This woman. Remarkable. _

 

“Did you not hear the part where I killed a man?” Daniel asked, raising his eyebrows.

 

“I mean, yeah, but I’m sure that wasn’t intentional or anything. You and Alex seem to get along great now,” Theo replied.

 

“How do you know that’s the same Alex?” Daniel asked skeptically.

 

“I mean. I dunno. Who else could it be?” Doddie responded.

 

“Touche.”

 

“Anyway,” Doddie continued, “why are you telling me this now? I mean, it’s fucking incredible and everything, but why now? It’s the past, right? Unless…” The rest of her sentence seemed to die in her throat.

 

“Unless what?” Daniel prompted.

 

“You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you? To be with someone from before?” Theodosia asked.

 

When Daniel almost fell off the fire escape, it wasn’t on purpose. He was just so shocked.  _ Theo? Thinks I’m leaving her? For someone else _ (never mind that the someone else was also her)?

 

Daniel realized he hadn’t answered, and Theo looked more worried by the second. “No! Of course not! Theo, darling, I would  _ never _ !” Theodosia sighed in relief. “I just thought you should know. Honesty is the best policy and all that.”

 

“Oh. Well then. I love you, Aaron Burr,” she said, kissing him quickly before noticing how he flinched at the name.

 

“Please don’t call me that,” he asked quietly, “I’m not him anymore. Not now.”

 

Doddie nodded. “Whatever you want, sweetheart. I love you, Daniel Barnes.”

 

“I love you, too.”

OoOoO

It was another two weeks before Theo remembered. Daniel woke up to a sobbing Theodosia pressed against his side.

 

“Theo? Darling, look at me, what’s wrong?” he asked, cupping her face in his hands.

 

“Aaron,” she said. Daniel repressed his grimace. This wasn’t about him.

 

“Yes? What’s wrong, love?” he asked again.

 

“Aaron,” she said again, and it was then when Daniel noticed that she was smiling.

 

“Doddie?” he asked.

 

“Aaron Burr, it seems I found you without even remembering who you are,” she laughed through her tears, “Of course, I could never stay away from you, even when I should’ve.”

 

“Theodosia?” Daniel asked, eyes wide.

 

“Hello, sweetheart,” she replied, kissing him

OoOoO

An hour and a lot less clothes later, Theodosia was curled up against Daniel’s chest, listening to his heart.

 

“I missed you, Aaron. I missed you and I didn’t even know it,” she muttered.

 

“I missed you too, Theo,” he replied, again pushing down his frown at the use of that name.

 

I should’ve known better than trying to fool Theodosia.

 

“I know what you’re thinking,” Theo said, “There is nothing wrong with who you are. You don’t need to be ashamed of being Aaron Burr. I dunno if you’ve noticed, but I quite like Aaron Burr.”

 

“Theodosia…”

 

“Don’t give me any of that. You are Aaron Burr, and you are Daniel Barnes. Neither of those are bad things to be. You can be Aaron,” she reassured, “There’s nothing wrong with it. If you just try and forgive yourself, if you just let yourself be who you are, you’ll be happier, I promise. You can be Daniel, and you can be Aaron. It’s okay. I swear it is.”

 

He took a deep breath and nodded. He’d let himself be, if only for Theo. If only to see the smile saying that name brought to her lips. It would be okay, just for his Theodosia.

 

Aaron smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So, question time: who do y'all wanna see next? The Schuyler Sisters? G-Wash? Jemmy James? I could even do, like, Phillip or something. It's up to you guys. That being said, please comment and tell me what's up!


End file.
